The Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency authorization for a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech. The decision means vaccinations will begin in a matter of days in individuals 16 years of age or older. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was developed at breakneck speed, and the Trump administration agreed over the summer to an initial $1.95 billion purchase of 100 million doses, before knowing whether it would be safe and effective. In clinical trials, it proved to be both. The same committee is scheduled to meet on Dec. 17 to review data on a vaccine developed by Moderna. Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. effort to fast-track development of Covid-19 vaccines, currently estimates it will have enough vaccine for 20 million people by the end of December between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. As of Monday, Dec. 14, indoor dining in New York City will be closed, though outdoor dining and takeout will still be permitted. Cuomo also said that health officials are evaluating indoor dining outside New York City and in COVID-19 orange zone “micro-clusters” and will do so over the weekend before making a determination on Monday. During his COVID-19 briefing on Friday, Cuomo also announced new guidance for gyms and salons, which were both responsible for less than 0.15 percent of the new spread of COVID-19. Moving forward, gyms and salons will remain open, though the state is increasing testing and regulations. Gyms and salons can now operate up to 25 percent capacity, down from 33 percent, and testing will go from bi-weekly to weekly. COVID-19 HOTSPOTS NEW: Under the micro-cluster strategy, regions that reach critical hospital capacity will be designated as a Red Zone. Specifically, following the implementation of the state’s “surge and flex” program, if a region’s 7-day average hospitalization growth rate shows that the region will reach 90% within the next 3 weeks, the region will become a Red Zone.
NEW: Following updated guidance from the CDC, if a region's hospitalization rate does not stabilize by December 12, additional restrictions will be applied to indoor dining. If the hospitalization rate does not stabilize in New York City by December 12, indoor dining will be suspended; if the rate does not stabilize in regions outside New York City, capacity restrictions will be reduced to 25 percent. The chart below is a summary and is not exhaustive.
1 Comment
Deirdre Callahan
12/27/2020 09:07:37 am
Thank you for organizing the holiday spirit contests and the annual tree lighting!! A couple of great ways to kick off the holidays for us!!
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